


Lights Will Guide You Home

by HallsofStone2941



Series: Crazy Life [6]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Gang Rape, Attempted Rape, Family Feels, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Multi, NO rape, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Beta Read, Sexual Assault, Violence, but definitely non-con, fem!Bilbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 15:01:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1987290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HallsofStone2941/pseuds/HallsofStone2941
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She thinks they do not notice, when she comes home with a pinched expression and bruises halfway hidden beneath sleeves held down by her fingers. Once, this beau of hers was the light of her life, but now his true colors are being revealed.</p>
<p>Belle worries her brothers by moving to college, and meets a handsome (but suspicious) stranger while there.</p>
<p>There is NO RAPE in this oneshot, but definitely non-con and events leading up to rape</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lights Will Guide You Home

When Belle graduates from high school with honors and a full ride to the local college, the voices of her two brothers are louder than every other family there. Dwalin had never finished school, and Balin had barely graduated before he had been forced into the position of sole breadwinner. The trio embrace emotionally, a small island standing immobile among bodies colliding and voices overlapping as other graduates express their elation. Balin treats them to Belle's favorite restaurant, where she orders macaroni and cheese - "one last childish act", she promises.

That final summer is both glorious and bittersweet. Balin takes far more pictures than Dwalin and Belle are willing to put up with, and eventually they confiscate his camera. At night, though, the brothers convene to reminisce, and lament. Their little sister is moving on; she will get a degree, a job, her own home. She will not be living under the safety of her brothers' roof anymore, where they can keep an eye on her. Neither Balin nor Dwalin are comfortable with this thought, but both know they cannot hold onto her forever.

When Belle goes to college, things seem alright. The ever-studious woman is content to focus on her classes, rarely going anywhere off campus (except to visit her brothers) and never engaging in the dangerously notorious activities of frats and sororities. They Skype at least once a week, and Belle comes over whenever schoolwork does not keep her busy. When Christmas rolls around, she comes home with a bright smile and a hundred stories about college life. Balin and Dwalin almost do not let her go back to school, so glad are they to have her back, but she seems to be thriving in her new environment, and the last of their trepidation falls away.

Belle finishes her first year of college without event. She takes a summer job - at a library, where else? – and moves back into her old room at the Durin home, a fact which overjoys the brothers to no end. When she goes back to college in the fall, Balin and Dwalin wave her goodbye with none of the concern they previously bore.

Something changes – in February, Balin and Dwalin think. Belle sometimes misses her Skype calls, and when she greets them (often late), she barely speaks before giving some excuse and leaving. On the weekends she _does_ bother to come home, she is grouchy and argumentative. Her grades do not drop, which is a relief to both brothers, albeit a small one. When Dwalin decides to do some investigative work (meaning he follows her without her knowledge), he finds her hanging out in bars with rowdy students that have little thought for their futures. He reports his findings to Balin, but since Belle refuses to talk to them, and is, technically, an adult, there is nothing they can do about it.

It is during spring break that she meets Azog.

Upon hearing of their Belle's (first) boyfriend, Balin and Dwalin exchange a long glance. Any man met during spring break means trouble, in their opinion, and trouble looks like Azog. Tall, bulky, with pale blue eyes and even paler blond hair; any policeman would automatically peg the man as a gang lord if he did not bear a sort of handsomeness about his intimidating form.

But Azog is a gentleman, almost sweet. On Friday evenings, he brings Belle home at an appropriate time, walking her to the door and bidding her farewell in one of the numerous languages he knows, before taking her hand in his and bowing over to kiss it. Belle blushes and giggles, and hums to herself late in the night after these dates. She reverts once again to her pleasant self, talking animatedly with Balin and bantering good-naturedly with Dwalin. Her grades, which had ever-so-slowly begun to decline, rise again. Azog, Belle informs them, keeps her away from the bars and takes her to nicer, more romantic places instead. She finishes her second year as spectacularly as she did her first, and remains spectacularly head-over-heels in love with her beau.

So it comes as quite a surprise when, sometime in late July, Belle informs the brothers that she will not be returning to college. Instead, she plans to live with Azog, who has a very comfortable income (neither brother is entirely certain what he does, though Belle says he manages a company). The idea is a complete turn-around from the woman who once wanted a great job with a great income, and a man in the picture as an afterthought. Before Balin and Dwalin can come up with a good argument, she is off, roaming God knows where with a boyfriend that acts like manna from heaven but seems to bear something far more sinister beneath the surface.

They barely see Belle that year, though she sometimes appears, about once a month, to pop in and tell them of her adventures; not just all over the state, but the country, particularly the east, as well. But every visit comes a little sooner than the last, and each tale is told with less hand-waving and shining eyes.

By March, it gets to the point where she is arriving every week. She thinks they do not notice, when she comes home with a pinched expression and bruises halfway hidden beneath sleeves held down by her fingers. Once, this beau of hers was the light of her life, but now his true colors are being revealed. Dwalin wants to smash the man's face in, but Balin points out the illegality of that plan. Despite the horror of what Azog puts her through, Belle seems no more likely to report abuse than she did when she first met him. There is nothing they can do except try to convince her to stay home more, and suggest that, maybe, she should leave him.

Belle eventually begins spending more time at the Durin house than she does away. She rarely leaves her room except to meet Azog, and the oldies rock she always listened to is replaced by depressing music that suits her new demeanor perfectly. Her face becomes pale, the only color being two dark circles beneath her eyes; her hair is dull, and her clothes have begun to fall loosely on her frame. Dwalin, who secretly thinks he could own a restaurant if he were so inclined, cooks anything and everything - lots of fat, lots of flavor, butter in everything - to get her to eat, but she only takes a few bites before leaving the plate to mold next to her bedroom door (though Balin will pick it up before it can).

It is only when one of Dwalin's customers is talking while getting a tattoo that the burly biker gets an idea that will help him sleep better at night. His client tells him about this decorative bracelet that women can wear - it looks like a piece of jewelry, but also serves as an emergency contact. If the woman is in danger and cannot call for help, she can press an inconspicuous rhinestone that sends an alert to the owner of the other half - a simple band - and they can find the woman or call the police. Dwalin examines the band wrapped around the customer's wrist. It is nothing flashy, gaudy, or frilly, and it would not look out of place on Dwalin's own wrist. He gets the name of the place that sells them and buys one for Belle on the way home from work.

When he presents it to her, she is skeptical about wearing it; less so because she dislikes the idea and more so because she is not sure how to present it to Azog. Eventually, the "trinket" becomes "something my father gave my mother - I only recently acquired it". The story sticks, and Belle never takes off the bracelet.

When Belle goes out now, she uses her own means of transportation. Azog no longer picks her up at the door, expecting her to come like the obedient dog he wants her to be. As annoyed as Dwalin is by this lack of mannerism, Azog's rudeness means that Belle - and therefore Dwalin - knows where she will be when she goes out. Once, the menacing blond would steal her away with an "it's a surprise" if anyone tried to ask, which made the bracelet fairly useless. Every night, Belle leaves and tells the brothers not to stay awake for her. Every night, Dwalin paces the floor, waiting for the alarm on his wrist to go off. Every night, Balin sits at the desk in the living room, going over paperwork by the light of the lamp and watching his brother wear a hole in the ground. They rarely say anything, the evenings filled with the sounds of papers rustling, a pen scratching, and Dwalin's feet stomping. He almost wishes that his band would go off. It would mean she is alive, and able to move. It would mean he could finally nail the bastard that has destroyed his little sister's spirit. It would mean the bracelet works, despite numerous tests already proving to him that it does. Instead, he must wait, agonizingly, every night for Belle to come home alive (if not, in all honesty, safe and sound).

*****

"Don't wait up for me," Belle says, halfheartedly waving her hand at them as she exits the house. She knows they will wait, as they always do, and though she never says it, they can always see a slight quirk of her lips when she comes home, which tells them she is glad they stay up for her.

At this point, their routine is so, well, _routine_ , that a break in the norm makes them both freeze. A noise, like an alarm, is coming from somewhere, but for a second, neither brother can place it. When their eyes simultaneously revert to Dwalin's wrist, there are two seconds of silence before Dwalin is rushing out the door. He revs the engine of his bike at the same time that the call to the police connects, making hearing things difficult, but he spits out, "Gundabad Bar, assault on a woman", hears the operator curse, and hangs up. The wind tries tearing his beard out of his skin, but in his rage, Dwalin does not notice. He knows that Balin will be right behind him in the car, and he knows that he can make it to Gundabad in five minutes, less if he speeds. He only hopes he will make it in time.

He cuts the engine as he skids into the alleyway, throwing the bike down with a carelessness that would normally make him cringe. A place like Gundabad has no bouncers, and he is through the door faster than he can blink. Silence rings as he looks around the room, but his tattoos, muscles, and leather jacket label him as dangerous as everyone else, not a target for a jumping. No one cares who he is looking for, or what he wants. The number one rule in a place like this: everyone's business is their own.

His eyes have a difficult time penetrating the darkness of the place, trying to pick out a large, familiar blonde head out of the corners, all hosting criminals and two prostitutes for every man (engaged in all sorts of...activities). Azog is not there, though, and Dwalin makes his way to the back, where side rooms offer places for more private entertainment. His eyes are caught by two large men guarding a door. As he gets closer, the faintest sounds of screams can be heard over the music, fighting, and sex coming from the main room. Dwalin knocks the two guards out before they register the threat, then bursts through the door.

A dozen or so men are crowded into a tight circle, where a single light shines down on two people. Azog stands there, with a bald man next to him that looks similar enough to Azog to be related. They are towering over something – or rather, someone. Dwalin cannot see Belle from where he is, but he has no doubt she is in the middle of the chaos. He roars, turning the attention away from her, and immediately begins swinging punches. His father's personal training lessons kick in, and half the men are down before anyone realizes what is happening. The fighting is harder after that, but now Dwalin can see Belle – bruised, bleeding, with her shirt torn almost completely off, and looking incredibly frightened – and the image doubles his strength. As he grapples with the two men still standing (other than Azog and his likely-brother), he watches the platinum blond grasp Belle by the throat.

"Called for backup, little bunny? Not smart. You're gonna regret it." He squeezes, and Belle is grabbing the massive wrist desperately. Dwalin throws the men down and lunges at Azog, punching the man hard in the ribs and the throat. Azog doubles over but does not let go, so Dwalin punches him in the elbow, forcing the arm to collapse. Belle is released, and drops to the ground, panting heavily and covering her throat with her hand. Dwalin throws Azog at his relative, making them both stumble backwards. As much as he wants to take to opportunity to pummel Azog into the ground, he keeps himself in front of Belle, standing in between her and any of Azog's men that try to get back up.

A commotion comes from the main room. Dwalin suspects it is Balin using his unique blend of martial arts to deflect anyone looking for an easy target. Within seconds, Balin appears in the doorway and stands next to Dwalin, fighting the thugs that try for another round. Dwalin hears sirens just as the last man to try and get up falls again. Some have bolted, but most, including the uglier version of Azog, lie insensate on the ground. The pale bastard himself snarls at the sound of sirens, though there is the briefest flash of fear in his eyes. He makes for the door, but Dwalin catches him around the waist and swings him around. Balin moves to curl Belle protectively in his arms as Dwalin proceeds to beat the living shit out of the son of a bitch that dared to harm his sister.

Everything is red, and he does not register sound until he sees Belle's hand on his arm. Police are all around him, prying Azog – who is at this point unconscious, but still, unfortunately, alive – out of his grasp. His hands are covered in blood, and he is beginning to feel the multitude of injuries he has sustained. Belle has a shock blanket around her shoulder and tear stains down her face, but she gives him the weakest of smiles and says "thank you."

After he is treated at the hospital, a policeman comes in, informing Dwalin that he is being charged with assault and battery. The man's glare lacks strength, though, and before he leaves, he murmurs low in Dwalin's ear that the courts will likely acquit him, as a thank-you for capturing the state's biggest and most dangerous gang leader and drug lord.

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I am aware, the bracelet that Dwalin gives Belle does not exist in the real world (though it should)
> 
> Soundtrack:  
> 1) Forever Young by Rod Stewart  
> 2) New Divide by Linkin Park  
> 3) A Boy Like That/I Have a Love from the West Side Story Soundtrack and Cast  
> 4) Lullaby by Nickelback  
> 5) Fix You by Coldplay


End file.
